Since the last time I wrote about the drink in 2020, Australia’s very own ’80s classic, the Japanese Slipper, has been seeing a steady revival at some of this antipodean nation’s best bars. In various guises, the Midori cocktail now finds a regular place on the menus of trendsetting venues like Above Board, Bar Liberty, Jangling Jack’s and Dulcie’s, to name a few. But when I get a hankering for highlighter-green deliciousness, I head for Huelo in Sydney.
The name Huelo translates to “sun rays” in Tongan, a nod to owner Patrick Kanongataa’s heritage, and a reflection of the bright, playful cocktails on offer within the Newtown neighborhood bar. With a menu inspired by the fruity fun of the late 20th century, like reinvisioned Harvey Wallbangers and blended Daiquiris, it is only natural that the Japanese Slipper was going to be front and center.
Huelo’s Japanese Slipper
A float of Champagne air elevates this take on the 1980s drink.
Like all their drinks, Huelo’s Japanese Slipper variation, which they call their Midori Sour, has been made with 21st-century execution and an eye for quality ingredients. Yet of all the revivalist Japanese Slippers making the rounds, Huelo's version offers comfort by finding a happy medium between modernist restraint and ’80s excess. Huelo departs from the original formula by starting with a base of Hendrick’s gin to cut through the Midori and replacing the traditional Cointreau with an aloe vera syrup as the sweetener. These bright, green, savory flavors match beautifully with the headlining melon liqueur, adding delicate complexity to an otherwise simple drink without losing sight of the original. This is Whitney Houston doing “I Will Always Love You,” not Limp Bizkit covering “Behind Blue Eyes.”
To crown the drink in truly hedonistic ’80s style, it’s topped with a Lallier Champagne and grapefruit bitters air, frothed to order. More complex and more visually and texturally engaging than the original without discarding the essence of the drink, Huelo’s Japanese slipper is like a high-def remaster of the original with a couple of unreleased tracks to boot. Like many great modern cocktails, it’s a fantasy version of a thing that never quite was—a vision of the ’80s through Midori-colored glasses—and I’m all for it.
